Meet the Secretary

Secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor Lana Gordon

After leaving the Kansas House of Representatives, Lana Gordon was named Secretary of the Department of Labor by Governor Sam Brownback in September 2012.

Secretary Gordon has made customer service and preserving the KDOL Employment Security (unemployment) trust fund her top priorities. Under Secretary Gordon, unemployment benefits decisions
are being made faster and more accurately. Additionally, Secretary Gordon has focused the agency on preserving the unemployment trust fund by aggressively combating fraud and actively
recovering overpayment benefits. Through mid-2014, under Secretary Gordon's leadership, more than $27 million has been recovered for the unemployment insurance trust fund through voluntary
payments, UI Benefit Offsets and State Tax Setoffs.

Lana was born in Kansas City, Mo., and lived in Prairie Village, Kan. She graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the
University of Kansas.

She taught 3rd grade in Lee Summit, Mo., public schools before moving to Topeka with her husband, Arnold, where they joined the family business.

Lana was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives 52nd District (Southwest Topeka) in November 2000 and re-elected in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010. Lana and her husband Arnold
have three grown children and four grandsons and one granddaughter.